Undercoating and clear bra/film

Hi Everyone,

 

I am trying to do undercoating and clear bra/film. Any suggestions, recommendations, prices, etc. Thank you in advance.

 

Regards,

Where do you live?

 

Yes to undercoating and no to clear bra

New York

Definitely No to clear bra unless you are covering the entire panel. So yes if you are doing just the bumper, but nothing that goes across half the panel. I could dig up a dozen pictures of 'clear' bras that aren't so clear.

 

As far as pricing goes, I don't know about undercoating, but a good clear bra kit will cost between 300 and 500 to have installed. Getting the entire front clip covered runs about 900 and that is the only way I would go if I was going to use it at all. Even at that you will still need to replace it every two or three years if you want to keep it looking good, so it isn't worth it in my opinion. They are too high maintenance for my taste even though nobody tells you that when they sell it to you.

I want to do the front and rear bumper and part of the hood.

i did my undercoating at Ziebart here in Chicago...

I want to do the front and rear bumper and part of the hood.

 

That's what I'm saying... Don't do 'part' of anything. Either do the whole panel or none of it. Doing part of it will make it stand out. It isn't 'invisible' like the name would lead you to believe. The texture is different and you will be able to see it more and more as it discolors and scratches more and more. Even if they say they will replace it if it ever has problems, good luck with that. Read the warranty writing and ignore what they tell you verbally. It is nearly impossible to get clear bras replaced under warranty until it has been a few years. Anyway, my advice is to not get it done. If you do get the bumpers and part of the hood done then plan on spending probably around four or five hundred bucks.

Thank you for advise. Now, how much will undercoating cost ? The exhaust pipe has some rust already and I bought my car 6 weeks ago. I think it had rusts already when I picked it up.

If it is already rusting then I would take it to the dealer and get it fixed under warranty. I don't think it is worth undercoating the car to prevent surface rust though. I've had cars for over 200,000 miles living in a climate with salted roads and very harsh conditions without ever having problems stemming from not applying undercoating. Unless you are planning on driving the wheels off the car, I would think that it would be a waste of money.

 

If you want to know for sure what the prices would be in your area then the best thing to do is call around. Prices can vary a lot from place to place depending on how common the service is and what products they use. All you are going to get here is ballpark estimates based on very little information. Call around and get your numbers there if you want the best estimate.

OCD ... One thing that is different though, in Utah, is UDOT uses a lot more Mag Chloride than several of the more northern and eastern states. Not sure what NY uses, but there's a good chance it's a higher concentration of rock salt on the roads. My experience in moving to Colorado from Minnesota is that Mag Chloride, for whatever reason, is less corrosive on cars than Rock Salt.

 

But I otherwise agree. You will always have some surface rust on some of the under-bits of the car and it's not usually anything to be concerned with.